Lockdown
by Gina Callen
Summary: An 'accident' leaves the team on lockdown in the mission for 3 days, emergency lighting and no contact with the outside world...will they survive! 1st in the 'There is no way you can write that' Challenge. Artwork by @MeleenaCollins
1. Chapter 1

_**LOCKDOWN!**_

"Are you sure we're alone?" Nell asked as Eric walked into Ops. Everything he needed in his arms.

"There is no case, Hetty went home an hour ago, I haven't seen anyone for the whole time I was downstairs." Eric replied.

"But what if we get caught?" Nell said looking out of the slats that formed the windows to ops, seeing nothing.

Eric put the supplies on the table, "Look you said you wanted to try this, it'll be fine, no one will find out, I do this here all the time." He smiled encouragingly, as he lay back on the blanket.

"What alone?" Nell asked shocked.

"Not all the time, sometimes alone, sometimes with others…now will you grab a control and come and sit down here." He patted a space on the blanket beside him on the floor in front of the big screen.

Nell looked worried, "I've never done this." She admitted.

Eric smiled, "I'll be gentle." He laughed patting the blanket beside him again.

Nell relaxed and joined him on the blanket the sound of their laughter filtering down the stairs as Sam, Deeks, Kensi and Callen walked out of the Armory closely followed by Hetty.

* * *

"That was a great display Hetty, Who would have thought those pointy knife things could be so versatile." Deeks said.

"Those are called Kunai, Mr. Deeks Not pointy knife things." Hetty corrected.

"Whatever they are still very cool." Deeks said looking at the others for support.

"Well I'm heading home now Michelle will kill me for being late back." Sam admitted.

"You didn't need to stay for this Mr. Hanna," Hetty said, "It wasn't mandatory training."

"No, I know but I couldn't resist when Deeks started calling your Kunai set little pointy knifes," Sam grinned evilly as Deeks shrank into the background.

"Really! Throw me to the wolves…Ouch that hurt." Deeks clutched his heart in mock pain.

The others laughed and went to grab their things.

"What was that?" Callen asked his hand reaching for his Sig as a loud clunking sound came from upstairs.

Just as they headed for the door a loud expletive came from upstairs and a loud clunking sound reverberated throughout the building.

"Run!" Callen just heard Nell's voice above the clunking sounds.

A loud klaxon sounded upstairs followed by a scream as Eric and Nell came running out of ops with a blanket scooped up holding all sorts of things in his hands as the doors to ops slammed shut.

* * *

"NO…No, No, No, No, NO!" Eric yelled banging his fists on the door.

"Mr. Beale?!" Hetty called.

"We got hacked." Eric snapped.

Nell stood there with the balled up blanket in her hands, noticing the look that Callen was shooting her and she shrugged.

"What happened?" Kensi asked as she jogged up the stairs followed by the others as they stood looking at the door that now had them all locked out of Ops and locked in the mission.

"Hackers made it through our firewall and started to get into the system before they were detected and we were put on lockdown." Eric said looking decidedly shifty.

"How?" Sam asked staring at him.

"They found an unsecured link and we tried to fight them off, but they just came at us…like Zombies." Eric said honestly.

They all looked at him, "It's a hacker term…Honest!" he squeaked. Nell looked at him with a small grin.

* * *

"Well, it seems we are on lockdown." Hetty told them

"What?!" Kensi asked, "We're locked in? It's dark everywhere," Kensi said, looking around as the darkness was replaced with emergency lighting. "So how long does this lockdown last?" she asked.

Hetty sighed, "It will last until Monday morning at least a code is needed in DC to unlock the facility, and this sort of lockdown was triggered inside this facility,"

"Have we been compromised?" Callen asked concerned, Sam mirrored his movement eyes darting around looking for any hidden dangers.

"I do not know," Hetty said.

"Can you get us out?" Sam asked.

Hetty shook her head, "Until Washington contacts us we are stuck here."

Callen walked over to Eric and Nell, "So, what were you up to in ops…together….with a blanket?" he asked.

"No…nothing…" Eric stammered as Nell shot him a look.

"So…" Deeks said breaking up the tension, "If we are here till Monday, how are we going to do this? I mean Hetty…are you sure there is no one we can call?"

"Have you tried your phone Mr. Deeks?" Hetty asked.

Deeks looked at his phone and shook his head.

He lifted his phone up and tried dialing, "A lockdown Mr. Deeks is just as the term described. Nothing in, nothing out."

Sam looked panicked, "Hetty, Michelle and the kids? They will worry."

Hetty walked over to him and patted his arm, "Do not worry, you all..." she stopped and looked at Callen, "Most of you have emergency contacts in the system, They were all sent an automated message that a lockdown is in effect and they you are uncontactable until further notice but that as of right now you are all safe."

Nell jumped as her phone vibrated.

"You have signal?" Deeks asked.

Nell looked at the message and shook her head, "No…it's the message Hetty was talking about." She said before she thought.

"Whose emergency contact are you?" Kensi asked interested.

* * *

Nell shook it off, "Will Director Vance be contacted?" she asked.

"He will have been contacted as soon as the messages went out." Hetty told them.

Deeks grinned, "So there's a chance that a team is on the way now to get us out?!" he said hopefully. "Hey Eric, we may still be able to hit the surf on Sunday." He laughed with nervous relief.

"I hope so." Eric said.

"Well, We should make ourselves comfortable, you could all use this time to catch up with your paperwork." Hetty suggested.

"But It's dark…and late!" Kensi moaned.

"Very well, Miss Blye, you and Miss Jones can you and find some bedding supplies in the supply cupboard and find some spots for you all to bed down."

"I'm covered Hetty." Callen smiled.

"I know, Maybe Mr. Callen you could share some supplies from your room?" she suggested.

"Hetty!" Callen exclaimed, the empty office at the back of the mission Callen had turned into his own personal room, although allowed by Hetty was until that moment still a secret from the rest of the team. "Come on Sam." He sighed.

"Secret room G?" Sam asked.

"Shut up Sam." Callen groused walking along the corridor past the gym to a room behind the maintenance room, it said. Janitors closet on the outside and had a large padlock on it. Callen took a key out and unlocked it.

"Whoa! G!...We have to sleep in here!" Sam said as he looked around at the huge bed, big throw pillows, and a large bookcase with a big comfy chair and a large standard lamp in the corner. A few photos were hung on the wall and the large room was more homely than his house.

"NO." Callen snapped, "Hetty can sleep in here. You can take pillows, food from the fridge, beer and a book if you're bored. NO ONE but Hetty, comes in here." He insisted.

He looked over the room and grabbed a few things, the last thing being a pink cardigan off the back of the chair.

Sam picked a book as Callen grabbed the one he'd been reading.

"Pink?" Sam said eyeing the article of clothing Callen picked up.

Callen shrugged, nonchalantly. "Some of us can just pull it off." He said, "Don't forget the beer," he said and turned with an armful of supplies and left.

Sam took a second to look around the room, Callen truly had a flair for decorating, but none of this was in his home. He looked carefully at the pictures on the wall, unguarded shots of the team taken off security footage. Even a few of Callen himself.

"SAM!" Callen called from outside the room.

"I'm coming," Sam said his arms full of food and beer following behind him.

Callen locked the door and put the key back in his pocket.

"G?" Sam said looking at him, "Why won't you let us all stay in there?"

Callen looked at him, "Mine." He said softly and walked down the corridor.

He walked over to the desks in the bullpen and dropped the snacks and pillows on the desk. Picking the cardigan up, he handed it to Nell, "Here." He said softly.

She smiled, "Thanks I've been looking for that." She grabbed a beer from Sam who shot Callen a look at the cardigan.

Callen walked over to Hetty who sat at her desk drinking a cup of tea, "Why did you do it Hetty?" he asked quietly.

"It's going to be a long three days Mr. Callen and I know you have books in there, it might stop your teammates from getting…cranky."

"But Hetty! It's mine…the whole point was…Urgh!" He exclaimed and turned to walk away.

"Mr. Callen, the whole point is that we all have to make the best of a bad situation." Hetty placated him.

Slumped into the comfy chair he glared at the woman who handed him a cup of tea. "I don't know what caused this lockdown yet Mr. Callen, I know that this is hard on you, it is hard on us all. But maybe you and your team will bond through shared hardship." She said wisely.

Callen laughed, "What hardship? You're getting my room…They know about my room and we have to spend the whole weekend together. What about this is hard for you?" he asked.

"I've run out of my favorite tea." Hetty said her face neutral.

"Oh Bugger." Callen said.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Callen got up and looked worriedly towards the cupboard "Are you sure…" he got up and started opening doors, "But…you always have extra!" he looked panicked.

"Mr. Callen…it is only tea…?" Hetty said calmly. "I will admit it is a calming blend, Valerian Root tea does taste nice, but I do have others…" she stopped as he started pulling stuff out of her bottom cupboard where she used to keep her tea. "Mr. Callen?!"

"No….you can't be out of it, I replaced it…Damn!" He stood up and paced. He had meant to replace the box that morning but Sam picked him up for work.

The others in the bullpen looked up at the commotion as Callen ran from Hetty's office down the corridor, past the gym and pulled his keys out.

"There has to be some in here." He said to himself as he opened the door to his room.

He ran to the cupboard on the wall and opened the tea caddy there…"No?!" he yelled throwing the empty box to the floor.

"Mr. Callen…" Hetty stood at the door as the team stood behind her.

"Whoa! Callen…!" Deeks said looking around the room amazed at the coziness of the room he had always assumed just held mops, buckets and brooms.

Callen turned and looked at them, "No…you don't get to come in here…out!" he ordered, he sank into the large armchair with his head in his hands.

"Callen?" Hetty asked walking across the room. "How many cups of that tea do you drink?" she asked.

"I…" Callen looked pleading up at Hetty, "not many …7 or 8…" he admitted.

"Seven or eight cups a week!" Hetty exclaimed in horror the recommended amount was 2 cups a week.

"A day." Callen admitted, "I need it Hetty…" He stood up looking around, ignoring the shocked looks of his team, "We need to find a way out…I…I can't…" he sank back down in the chair.

"Callen, why so much?" Hetty asked.

"It helps." He sighed. Hetty waved the others away as Callen sat in his favorite chair.

Sam stayed behind and waited, "It will be alright Mr. Hanna, I will look after Mr. Callen. Would you go and get the others settled for the night, and see if you can get Mr. Beale to explain what he was up to in OPS before this incident occurred." She ordered.

* * *

Sam nodded and left following after Kensi who was pushing Deeks down the hall, "But did you see that room!" Deeks said, "How come we don't have a room like that. I could use a room like that…." Deeks turned to Kensi with a cheeky grin, "We could use a room like that, little candles, some romantic music…." He yelped as Kensi punched him in the arm.

Hetty walked over to Callen, "They are gone, talk to me moy syn." She asked quietly.

"I…I'm still a good agent…" Callen said softly, "Am I still a good agent?" he asked.

Hetty pulled her chair up next to him, "You are still my team leader and in my opinion, a good agent; are you questioning yourself?" she asked.

"I…I've had a few…panic attacks, I had them as a child. I remember the doctor telling one of my foster parents I would grow out of them. I did. But…recently…I failed them, they were hurt, Sam and Deeks…I am their team leader, I should have protected them. I keep dreaming about them being hurt and I couldn't protect it."

"It?" Hetty asked.

"The team, the group…my…my family…I keep making mistakes, people keep getting hurt, I don't know what to do momma." He bent his head down as Hetty pulled him into her arms.

"Use this time, moy syn. Reconnect with your team…let them in, you never know it could be good for you." She advised.

He sighed and sat back, "I could use a cup of tea,"

Hetty smiled, "Me too."

* * *

Deeks slumped back in his chair and looked at the sleeping bag Kensi had deposited on his desk.

"Awww…Kens, do we really have to sleep in these things, can't we all bunk down in Callen's room?" he asked.

Sam shook his head as he walked in, "Nope that's Callen's space and he's allocated it to Hetty." He grabbed a sleeping bag and rolled it out.

"Why don't we have a room like that?" Deeks asked, "I mean, we all work late and could use somewhere to crash…How come Callen gets it?"

Sam looked at him, "Deeks…" he said, he wanted to growl at him and tell him to back off, but things had changed between them and he knew that Deeks came onto the team after Callen had brought his house.

"Deeks, for years Callen worked here but was homeless, he lived out of his bag and in motels, and it wasn't until just around the time you joined the team that Callen got his first house, he would sleep here a lot, mostly on the couch. However it wasn't good for his work, he would be tired and his work would suffer so Hetty must have insisted he had a room here, somewhere safe, I don't know the exact reason but I think that's it." He said.

"That's not it." Callen said, he walked in as if nothing had happened, pulling out his bedroll and laying it behind his desk.

Deeks sat on his desk as the others moved around.

"Ooh…Story!" Eric said.

* * *

Callen laughed as they sat on the edges of their desks.

"As you know I've never really had a home." Callen told them and they nodded. "Well when I came here and joined this team, I found I wanted to stay, I didn't have anywhere to live and would move from motel to motel, I crashed on the couch in the bullpen sometimes, but I still didn't have anywhere to call my home, I didn't have possessions apart from what I could carry. Then one day Hetty showed me the spare Janitor's closet." Callen looked up with a smile as Hetty walked in.

"And you made yourself a room there?" Kensi asked.

"No, I made myself a home there. Something that for once was mine and permanent, that was always going to be there for as long as I was a part of the team." Callen said.

Nell smiled at him, encouraging him to go on.

"I found here something I didn't think I would ever have, a family." Callen said moving his hand to rest on Nell's shoulder.

"Aww." Eric said, "That's sweet Callen."

Callen glared at him, "Sweet?"

"Er. Nice?" he corrected.

Callen smirked, "Yeah, Anyway it's warmer in there than out here, so Hetty and the girls can take my room," he turned to Nell, "You still know where everything is?" he asked.

Nell nodded, "Yes thanks, if you haven't moved anything." She said grabbing her sleeping bag. She saw the pink cardigan Callen had given her earlier and picked it up. "Hetty, G found your cardigan earlier," she handed it to the older woman.

"Ah thank you, I left it in your room the other night." Hetty admitted.

Callen smiled, "That's ok."

* * *

"So how do you know about the room?" Sam asked Nell.

Nell smiled, "I've been helping Callen." She replied.

He smiled saying nothing, as the girls gathered their things and walked off to Callen's room to settle down for the night.

Eric looked longingly up at ops as the boy's rolled out their bags from behind their desks.

Callen grinned, "Come on Zombie boy, you can roll yours out next to mine behind Kensi's desk."

Eric paled at the nickname, "Er…Ok…"

Sam put the battery lights on the desks, "Goodnight," He called.

"Night." Deeks' voice came from behind his desk.

Callen and Eric called Goodnight as well.

Soon there were the faint sounds of Deeks snoring and Sam's soft but even breathing.

Callen as usual was staring at the ceiling unable to sleep.

"Eric…What were you and Nell doing in Ops before the lockdown?" he asked quietly.

"Err….working?" Eric turned and looked at Callen.

"With a blanket?" Callen smirked at his friend.

"Like you've not wanted to work on a blanket." Eric grinned.

"E?" Callen lay back on his bedroll trying not to laugh.

Eric and Callen had a close friendship; they had had one for years, ever since Eric's parents had fostered Callen for a two week stint when Eric was six. It was a fact they kept to themselves, even though he was sure Hetty knew.

"X-box." Eric admitted. "Left for dead 2"

"Again…you know that gives Nell nightmares, you will never get her to play it." Callen laughed his voice soft and low.

"I got you to play it." He said, sounding affronted.

"You got me to play golf remember," Callen laughed.

"Yeah and you hit mom on the head with the ball." Eric reminded him.

"Why do you think I don't play anymore?" Callen sobered a bit.

"G…you are not dangerous." Eric chided him.

"I am no more dangerous than you are with that….Eric, did you hook it up online?" he asked a thought coming to him.

Eric sat up and hugged his knees, "Er. Yeah"

Callen lay back "Jeez Eric! Hetty is going to rip you a new one." He lay back chuckling softly.

Eric was so dead in the morning.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

While Sam and Deeks slept, Eric was fighting sleep, wanting to enjoy his time left alive before Hetty found out what he had done.

Callen grinned in the dark watching him.

"It's gonna happen sooner or later E. I got your back, you know that," Callen whispered in the darkness.

"I know G, but I'm scared." Eric admitted.

"What's the worse she can do?" Callen surmised, "You are the backbone to this team, we can't function without you." He said trying to appease his friend.

"If she fires me?" Eric said the fear creeping into his voice.

"I'll have your back little brother, I brought you onto this team and I will always fight for you, you know that." Callen said solemnly.

Eric smiled, remembering the day Callen had told him all about NCIS and the position he was perfect for.

* * *

"E!" G had come running into Eric's apartment.

Eric as usual was passed out on the floor in front of his laptop after another all night session of Hacking; he had panicked at one point that night when he had actually crashed the entire internet.

"WHAT DID YOU DO?" G yelled as he slammed down the laptop down and pulled the plug.

"I fixed it….?" Eric said sleepily.

"YOU BROKE THE INTERNET!" Callen yelled as Eric rubbed his eyes.

"Shh!" he yawned.

"My bosses saw and tracked it back to you."

Eric had sat up and crawled onto the couch, "I thought you left the CIA?" he asked confused.

"I did, I got hired by NCIS…you broke into the pentagon and broke the internet…in one night?"

"NCI…What?! And It was a bet, It wasn't serious…" Eric argued.

"There's a CIA analyst, tracked it back to you…some kid called Jones and she's good…but they know your better, they're gonna send me to bring you in Macy my boss is livid."

"You told him that you know me?" Eric asked.

"Her…and not exactly, I said I might be able to find you with my contacts, damn E, I'm breaking in a new partner, I have a bloody psychologist wanting me to spill my life story and you do this?!"

"G…I'm sorry; I didn't mean to…what is NCIS?"

Callen sighed and grabbed an unopened beer off the table, "It's Naval Criminal Investigative Services, I work for a new branch the office of special projects here in L.A."

"You staying this time?" Eric asked.

"I was thinking about it, till my crazy little foster brother broke the internet…" G growled.

"I was bored, Lucas bet me I couldn't get into the pentagon and then I saw the servers for the internet and couldn't help myself." He said.

"You need a job."

"Ha! You could see me in pants sitting in an office?" Eric laughed.

"I…maybe not in pants, but if I talked to Macy I'm sure I could talk her round into letting you work for her rather than go to prison."

"P…Prison...G….!" Eric stammered.

"Get a coat and get up, you're coming with me." G said putting his bottle back on the table.

"Are…are you arresting me?" Eric squeaked.

G grinned, "And get the back of your mom's wooden spoon, not a chance."

Eric followed him out the door.

* * *

Before long he was standing in Lara Macy's office in what had looked to Eric like an abandoned warehouse.

"G? What the hell is a civilian doing here?" Macy snapped.

"Lara Macy…meet Eric Beale, the guy that broke into the pentagon last night and broke the internet." He said with a grin as he sat on a chair.

"You brought him here?!" Macy said incredulously, "Why not the boatshed."

G shrugged, "He can't show you what a genius he is from the boatshed, or show you how much you need him."

Macy looked at Callen he was hiding something that much was certain.

"G how do you know you haven't just compromised this agency, Director Sheppard is going to throw a fit." She said shaking her head looking at the shy blond man in shorts.

"I trust him." Callen said.

Macy nearly broke her neck as her head moved so fast, "You…You what?!"

"I've known Eric since he was six, I know his family, He didn't mean to cause so much trouble, he is the best computer geek on the planet and we need him Mace."

"Ok, I trust your judgment on this G, let's take him to Ops and see what he can do." Macy said as she stood up.

Eric shook G a look and followed along behind him.

"Wow!" Eric breathed as he took in the tech in Ops.

Callen grinned, "Ok Eric I want you to find Agent Sam Hanna, he's in Los Angeles." He said with a grin.

Macy typed her password, "you can use this terminal." She said.

Eric nodded and sat down; within moments he had pulled up Sam's file. "Your facial recognition program is antiquated but I can update the protocols to include all available cameras' in Los Angeles…" he said looking at Macy for permission.

She looked stunned, "Go ahead."

It took Eric five minutes to write the protocol, "I got him he's at a Starbucks in the valley." He said pulling up a camera feed of Sam buying coffee.

Callen grinned and pulled out his cell phone.

"Sam…get an extra coffee, black 2 sugars before you leave." He said and hung up.

He laughed quietly at the look of confusion on Sam's face before he went and did as he was asked.

"How did you do that?" Macy asked.

Eric turned and told her about a new government system known as Kaleidoscope which was inbuilt into all road traffic cameras and most security camera's but was hardly ever used.

Macy listened rapt.

* * *

"You're right Callen, we need him." She said an hour later as she sat in her office and Callen lounged on the couch.

"So you ain't gonna arrest him?" Callen asked hopefully.

Macy shook her head, "With him on the team we may be able to make more arrests I talked to Director Sheppard, she wants me to get him to work right away, she has a project for him…looking for some arms dealer. You sure this Beale guy wants the job?" she asked.

Callen nodded, "It's this or prison right?"

Macy nodded, "Why do you want to keep him out of prison so badly?" she asked

Callen smiled, "I lived with his family when I was twelve, and E is like a little brother to me." He admitted.

"Director Shepard may not like that." Macy warned.

"Well don't tell her then, it's not the first secret you have kept." Callen said shooting her a look.

Macy nodded, "Ok, but no one must know." She warned.

She nodded to Eric who was outside and had lip read the entire conversation, a skill he was sure he wouldn't be revealing for a while.

"Ok Mr. Beale, we want to offer you a job," Macy said as Callen grinned.

More than anything he knew he had just saved his little brother from a fate worse than no internet…which to Eric was the same as a fate worse than death.

Eric smiled as he finally allowed sleep to claim him. He knew that come the morning G would have his back.

Callen sighed, the team was finally asleep and now he could relax.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Hetty was the first to rise, although she had assumed and correctly as it happened that Callen hadn't slept a lot if at all the night before. She straightened herself up and walked into the small kitchen area to find some snack foods and a warm, fresh pot of tea.

She nodded a good morning towards Callen and Callen poured her a cup of tea, standing between her and the trash can, he handed her a cup.

"Ummm." She sighed drinking in the taste. "This is good, where did you find it? It's not Valerian root tea is it?"

Callen shook his head sadly, "I looked everywhere, but this is a blend you haven't tried before." He admitted with a small smirk, "Do you like it?" he asked.

"It is quite pleasing." She admitted smiling at him.

Callen sighed and moved, shooting a glance at the trash can and the empty tea bags that were inside, he had spent two hours emptying all the paper sacks and tipping them into an empty tea caddy just so that Hetty wouldn't taste the paper when she drank it.

He moved to the table and sat opposite from her.

"Eric needs to talk to you when he wakes up." Callen said quietly, looking at Deeks, Eric and Sam still asleep on the floor.

"It was him wasn't it?" Hetty asked quietly.

Callen nodded, "X-Box." He admitted.

Hetty sighed, "He's been told before, I hate to have to say it, but maybe, if he's putting the security of NCIS at risk, I may have to fire him."

"You can't." Callen said keeping his voice low. "His contract is tied to mine, if you fire him I'm leaving."

Hetty looked confused, "Really?"

"Eric is the best at what he does. Look Hetty we all have our thing, Kensi has doughnuts, Nell has her online scrapbooking, Sam has his SEAL training, which he still does, Deeks surfs, I have my…well you know, my search and Eric has his gaming, it's not just a game to him, he uses it to talk safely to other Hackers, finds out about security threats before they happen. Besides, he was waiting for me to give him a lift home and was trying to er…introduce Nell to some of his friends so she could get in with them too." Callen argued.

"So, Mr. Beale was intelligence gathering?" Hetty asked.

Callen relaxed a bit, "Yeah…yes he was."

Hetty gave him that I know your feeding me a load of Hogwash but it's not a bad excuse look.

Callen smiled back, "Go easy on him…he's…"

"I know Mr. Callen, I've seen your full file remember." She said cutting him off.

"You knew? And you never said?" he asked surprised.

"You kept your relationship with Mr. Beale out of the office, so I had no need." Hetty said.

* * *

They both stopped as Sam and Kensi both spit out their coffee. Neither Hetty nor Callen had noticed them as engrossed as they were in their conversation.

Eric, Deeks and Nell walked in as Sam and Kensi stared at first Callen then Eric in shock.

"Y…Your….You're GAY!" Kensi stammered.

"WHAT!?" Deeks, Eric and Nell said together.

"No?" Callen said, "Why would you say that?" he asked looking over at Eric.

"We heard Hetty; G…She said you and Eric were in a relationship!" Sam exclaimed.

"Me! With G! What…no way?! G?" Eric stammered as they looked at him.

"You never call Callen, G?" Deeks said accusingly.

Eric moved closer to Callen who moved unconsciously to protect him. "No…it's not like that at all…" Callen said defensively.

Hetty stood up, "Sit down all of you." She ordered. Callen and Eric sat one side of the table and the others moved to the other side to stare at them as Hetty took a seat at the end of the table.

"For a start, Homophobia is illegal and is actively discouraged especially here," She started, "But what I said was, Mr. Callen kept his relationship with Mr. Beale out of the office, I did not at any point say he was_** in**_ a relationship with Mr. Beale." She chastised them.

"But isn't that the same thing?" Kensi asked.

Callen sighed, "I have to tell them E." he said.

"Aww nicknames, how cute." Deeks grinned but stopped when Kensi punched him.

Callen glared at him. But Eric nodded.

"Eric was, for a while when I was a child, my foster brother, his parents were one of the nice ones I lived with and I still visit regularly. I got Eric the job here." He said.

"Really?" Nell said amazed.

Callen smiled, "Yeah, Eric was the first person I really trusted, his parents second. I knew if he told me you guys were ok I would feel safe enough to work here." He admitted. "We didn't tell anyone, well because…It wasn't important."

"So that's why you went nuts when G got shot; checking camera angles and looking for the slightest clue as to who had shot G." Sam said remembering that after G was shot Eric hadn't left Ops for a week.

"Yeah, my parents went spare, and I promised to find out who hurt my big brother." Eric admitted.

* * *

After a mumbled round of sorry from the team, Hetty turned her attention to Eric, "And Mr. Beale, I believe you have some apologizing to do also."

"Me?!" Eric squeaked as Nell nodded slightly.

"Actually Hetty, it's my fault too, I asked him to show me the game and my TV isn't big enough to play it on…." Nell said

"And I'm staying with G for a month, my apartment is being fumigated and redecorated, and he doesn't have a TV…" Eric butted in.

"So you decided to play your computer game in OPS." Hetty looked around at all of them and Nell and Eric flinched.

"Yes Hetty, but I was also introducing Nell to some Hacker friends who although underground have their ear on the pulse…it's like a heads up on cyber attacks before it even happens." Eric argued.

Hetty smiled, "So Mr. Callen informed me. However Mr. Beale…I feel that …"

"You can't fire me!" Eric shot out in a high pitched voice.

Hetty smiled, "So I've been told Mr. Beale, I was going to suggest if you need to do this again, not only do you run it by me, but you upgrade the firewalls to compensate. According to Mr. Callen, the world is much safer when you are on this side of the law."

Nell smiled, "He's not that good, you know when I was with the CIA…years ago, we had a guy that broke into the pentagon and then broke the internet, he was good, took us ages to pin him down then he disappeared." She told them.

Eric held up his hand as Sam and Kensi smirked.

"Er…That was me." He admitted.

"You?!" Nell looked shocked. "I spent months trying to find you." She looked mad.

"G got me a job here, so he wouldn't have to arrest me." Eric admitted.

Nell sat there as Deeks put a cup of tea under her nose, "I hear it's good for shock." He smiled.

Nell rolled her eyes but drank it anyway.

"So…" Callen said, looking at the team, "It's gonna be a long day, any ideas as to what we can do?" he grinned.

"Paperwork, Mr. Callen, you have more than enough." Hetty said grinning at the look of horror on Callen's face, he had put his paperwork off for months and his pile was bigger than everyone else's and now he was trapped with no way to escape from the paperwork.

He was doomed.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N For those who haven't been following any of my other stories, I have been away for a month due to work and left my notes at home so haven't been able to post. Anyway I'm back now and my stories are on rotation and all will be finished.

Thanks for your patience.

Disclaimer, If you recognise it, it belongs to Shane Brennan and CBS if you don't it's mine.

* * *

Chapter 5.

The day had dragged on and on.

There were no calls in or out of the building; no one had even knocked on the door.

Within two hours, Callen and the team had caught up on all their outstanding paperwork, Deeks surprisingly finished first.

Callen was the last to finish and he threw his last file in the out tray with a flourish. "I'm done!" he announced to the room, glared as Deeks stood up, and gave him a standing ovation.

Sam grinned and picked up the files and took them to Hetty's desk.

"All done Hetty." He said.

"Very good Mr. Hanna, now Ms. Jones and I have managed to make something passable to eat from the items that Mr. Callen had stored in his room." She said walking over to the kitchen area and looking in the pot on the portable stove she'd commandeered from Callen's room.

"Really?!" Callen exclaimed walking over and catching her glare did a screeching verbal u-turn, "I didn't think I had anything you could make a meal from in there." He said.

"Ah Mr. Callen, a great many things can be made from just a few ingredients, a good stew, a great curry….a good team." She said stirring the pot.

"Yeah." Callen agreed with the bit about the team, was not sure about the rest of it.

"Sit…food will be ready soon." Hetty said and swatted his backside as he turned to get him out of 'her' kitchen.

* * *

Callen looked over at Sam who was leaning against the wall trying desperately not to laugh aloud.

"Wanna work up an appetite?" Callen asked.

"What did you have in mind?" Sam asked cocking his head to the side.

Callen smirked and walked past him towards the gym, "A little healthy competition." He grinned heading for the rock wall.

"Deeks?" Callen called Deeks stuck his head from behind a vaulting horse.

"What?" he asked,

"You…Me….up the rock wall, you in?" Callen challenged.

Deeks grinned, "sure…but wasn't it us last time. Maybe we could get Sam and Kensi versus Eric and Nell?" he suggested.

"NO!" Nell and Kensi yelled.

Callen grinned, "Maybe Girls versus boys?"

Deeks nodded, "You're in."

Kensi and Nell stood staring at them both, "What?" Deeks grinned, "Unfair, I mean I know boys are better than girls but…"

"You're on!" Kensi said grabbing Nell and walking to chalk their hands, "Come on Nell, we can beat them easy."

Deeks shot a grin at Callen then Kensi said, "At least we aren't racing against the old men."

"Old?" Callen looked put out as Kensi and Nell both laughed and started warming up.

Deeks nudged him in the ribs, "Let it go." He whispered.

Callen nodded and they sat on the weights bench as Sam and Eric warmed up.

"Okay!" Deeks called looking at the other four, "Best of three, first one to the line wins." He said.

Sam looked at the girls, "With my upper body strength we'll win easily." He laughed.

Nell nodded to Kensi and then Nell took the line against Sam.

"Are you sure?" Sam asked "Maybe Kensi would be a better match against me." He offered.

Nell laughed, "Bring it on lunkhead." She taunted.

Sam looked at Callen and mouthed Lunkhead?

"I call 'em as I see 'em," Nell said getting ready.

"Three. Two. One!" Deeks blew the whistle in his hand.

Within Seconds Nell was on the wall, she climbed with ease, her height not being a drawback at all, Nell hadn't told Sam that Hetty had trained her and shown her the easiest way up for someone of her height.

By the time Sam was halfway up Nell was already at the top.

"Come on Sam!" she called.

Sam looked up in shock, "How?"

"Brains not brawn." Nell laughed, she let go and fell effortlessly onto the crash mat, stood up and dusted herself off all before Sam made it to the top.

"Whoo hoo Nell!" Kensi cheered and high fived her.

Callen was grinning, not just at the fact that Nell had beaten his partner, but at the fact she'd done it with style. Using all of Hetty's moves and Sam was still oblivious.

Eric looked at Nell with new found awe. His partner was awesome. "That was great Nell!" he said admiringly.

"Thanks." Nell grinned.

Sam dropped to the ground, "How?" he asked breathlessly.

"Brains, Sam." Nell grinned and moved to let Kensi and Eric take the mark.

"Good Luck Kensi." Nell said.

Again two people squared up against each other.

This time Eric was feeling confidante, after all if Nell could win by brains, then so could he.

He ran for the wall as the whistle was blown and started climbing.

Before he'd even reached halfway Kensi was calling down to him.

"Too late Eric!" she laughed "I'm here!"

"How?" Eric asked he'd calculated the quickest route up, he was sure of it.

"Beauty before brains." Kensi said.

Nell burst into laughter followed by Callen and Deeks.

"Food is ready!" Hetty called and Kensi and Eric got off the wall.

"I suggest you all wash up before your meal." Hetty said. "Mr. Callen…a word." She said and turned and walked out.

Callen sighed and followed her.

* * *

He caught up with her by the pan and she thrust a pile of plates and cutlery into his hands, "You can set the table." She said.

Callen nodded and started to do as she asked.

"Did you really think that was wise?" Hetty asked him as he placed the plates in front of each seat.

"What…the rock wall thing?" Callen asked.

Hetty nodded.

"I hoped they could work off some nervous energy, maybe stop them from going crazy…Eric was talking about trying to break into Ops. This keeps their minds off of that." Callen explained.

"And you think you can do that all weekend?" Hetty asked.

Callen shrugged, "Taking it an hour at a time Hetty." He admitted.

"Oh great food!" Deeks' voice came through the door as the group descended on the makeshift dining room each taking their seats.

Hetty carried some bread to the table and Callen carried the pot of meat and vegetables.

"Eat up guys." Callen said and took his seat.

Hetty watched as her agents ate their meal.

Deeks and Eric with total exuberance tucked into their meal, Nell and Kensi chatting in the corner and eating at a more sedate pace. Sam tasting carefully and then eating, smiling at Hetty in thanks for the food, and last…Callen, making sure everyone else had been fed and had enough, before he even served himself a meal.

Callen watched over the group, pleased that they all seemed happy, even with the situation at hand.

He sighed and ate his meal noting Hetty watching him.

Callen ate sparingly, leaving some food on his plate as the others finished.

He got up and cleared the table as Deeks offered the group a rematch in the gym. Nell groaned and shook her head, "I'm too sweaty Deeks I need to take a shower." She told him. Kensi agreed and the girls headed off to the showers.

Sam offered to spar with Eric and Deeks so they headed to the gym, with the promise of using the showers after the girls were done.

Callen wrapped his plate up and stuck it in the fridge; he turned and started doing the dishes.

"Mr. Callen?" Hetty said pouring herself a cup of tea frowning at the paper taste in the cup.

"Yes Hetty?" Callen replied putting a dish in the drainer.

"Was there a problem with your meal?" she asked.

Callen turned and looked at her worried, "No! No not at all." He said.

"So why not eat all of it?" she asked concerned he was coming down with something.

"Dunno when we are going to get out do we," Callen said, "So I'm saving some for later."

Hetty looked at him, she knew where this idea was coming from and her heart ached for him, "Mr. Callen, there is more than enough food; you are not going to starve."

"Wasn't thinking about me?" Callen admitted. "I was worried for the others." He said and turned back to his task.

Hetty smiled and watched him. No matter how many years past in his life occasionally Hetty got to see the selfless little boy she had known a long, long time ago.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N (You may want to skip this if you are NOT Jessica, the bigoted person who left me this review. To chapter 4.)

Jessica:Hate it gay is so not cool and even if you r gay then why are you 

My reply.

Jessica if you had read this properly you would have known this was a misunderstanding in a conversation this is not a slash nor any pairing story as I had said in the beginning.

My sexual orientation is none of your business. but in the interests of making sure you don't hurt anyone else with your stupid remarks I will tell you...I am coming out of the closet...**I AM HETROSEXUAL...** so there you go pelt me with your straight HATE groups and I can't help being straight I was born this way...just like people I know are born gay and my lovely daughter was born BI. I taught her to love people for who they are, I am so sorry that you were not taught this as a child, I am sure there is a self help group that could point you in the right direction to learn tolerance.

Guess what all of the people in those groups are human. (LGBT people are not Aliens!)

I do not hate anything except people who use their ignorance to try to hurt others.

Before you start on religion I am VERY religious, I am a mormon and I STILL LOVE MY CHILD and believe that everyone has the right to live their lives freely and without the threat of persecution.

If this means that you will stop reading my work. GOOD.

I would rather never write again than have to pander to the likes of you, who doesn't even have the literary knowledge to write a complete sentence. I enjoy criticism of my work when I have made a mistake or I can improve.

THIS WAS NOT A CRITIQUE THIS WAS A HATE PURE AND SIMPLE AND I WILL NEVER ALLOW PEOPLE TO TRY AND MAKE ME APOLOGISE FOR BEING WHO I AM, OR WHO MY DAUGHTER IS!

Let the hate mail flood in I will never apologize for being a tolerant and accepting person who does not like hatred towards anyone.

Rule 23 NEVER Compromise in what you believe in. (Not a Gibbs Rule...MINE) and I never will.

EVERYONE HAS THE RIGHT TO LOVE AND BE HAPPY.

The PROUD mother of a BI teenager. (Who due to people like Jessica has on at least one occasion attempted to take her life, I will fight with every breath in my body to make sure no child is hurt through ignorance like this again.)

For the rest of you I apologise for this long A/N.

Please enjoy the last part of this story.

* * *

Chapter 6

Callen was up way before everyone, it was the third day of their incarceration. They had made it so far, no one had actually tried to kill each other.

Callen looked over at Eric and laughed as the man he thought of as a little brother, turned on his side and lashed his arm out.

"Zombies…gotta kill those Zombies…" he mumbled.

"You get them, E." Callen said pulling the blanket up over his shoulders.

He walked over and looked at Deeks who was curled around the leg of his desk, "Kens…" he murmured.

Callen grinned and walked over to Sam, who was asleep on his back.

"Don't even think about it G." Sam said.

Callen did a double take, no…he was right, and Sam too, was asleep. Callen shook his head and walked over to the couch, even in his sleep Sam could sense what was going on around him.

Callen shifted as Hetty came into the little kitchenette beside where Callen was sitting.

"Morning." He said quietly so as not to wake anyone.

Hetty smiled, "Good Morning, Did you sleep?" she asked concerned for his welfare.

Callen nodded, "You and the girls?" he asked.

Hetty smiled, "Ms Blye and Miss Jones are still asleep, however I feel our forcer incarceration will be nearing its end soon, I assume by now Director Vance has ascertained that we are uncontactable and hopefully help is on the way."

"SURF!" Eric called in his sleep.

Callen laughed, "Good cos I think a few of us are getting stir crazy." He replied.

"And I assume you will be wanting your room back." Hetty said taking a sip of the generic tea and sitting next to him.

"no…" Callen said and turned to look at her, "I've been thinking, I don't need it anymore."

Hetty smiled but said nothing.

"I have a home, a real home that is mine. I'm thinking of moving the stuff into there. I can trust them, I don't need it anymore." He said, "Do I?"

Hetty smiled and put a hand on his arm, "No Mr. Callen I do believe that you have finally outgrown the need to have a bolt-hole."

Callen nodded and stretched.

"Maybe Miss Jones and Mr. Beale could assist you with finally furnishing your home when we get out of here." She suggested.

Callen nodded, "I'll ask when they are awake."

"We'll have to sort out something…" He stopped as a loud clunking noise reverberated through the mission.

* * *

"I DIDN'T DO IT!" Eric shrieked as he woke up.

Callen stood up and Hetty smiled, "I think we will be going home soon."

Kensi and Nell rushed out in their sweats. "What's that?" Kensi asked as the others woke up.

"That Ms Blye is our freedom unless I am very much mistaken." Hetty said.

Both Kensi and Nell looked at each other and raced back to get dressed and look at least as presentable as they could under the circumstances.

There was a loud banging on the door and a familiar voice called out, "Federal Agents!"

Hetty and Callen grinned and walked towards the door.

"Jethro!" Callen called, "It's all clear!"

Gibbs came in the door followed by the rest of the MCRT from D.C.

"We heard that OSP had been compromised, we weren't sure anyone was actually alive, you gave me a coronary kid." Gibbs said pulling Callen into a one armed hug as Sam smirked in the background.

"Bishop, tell the Director it's all clear." He ordered and a small blonde haired woman turned and hurried outside.

"The…Director ca…came too?" Eric looked scared to death.

Callen moved closer to him, "Not your fault Eric…remember."

Eric rolled his eyes at Callen.

Gibbs walked over to Eric, "Listen to your big brother E, Callen will have your back…and I'm confiscating your X-Box."

"Gibbs?!" Callen said, "Really?"

Gibbs nodded, "Gonna give it to Eric's mom." He smirked as the color fled from both the men's faces.

"But…." Callen started.

Deeks and Sam looked on interested.

"She'll kill us!" Eric breathed.

"Rather her than me, Mr. Beale?" Leon said as he entered behind his strike team.

"I…I…Director?" Eric said.

Leon smiled, "I am just thankful that you are all safe and the mission was not compromised." He said, "It wasn't compromised was it?"

"No Leon, it wasn't." Hetty said going to the rescue of her team.

"That is good Hetty, so…" Leon walked over and sat at Callen's desk, "Would someone like to explain to me why we couldn't get hold of the OSP team for three days?"

Kensi and Nell ran to join the others as they stood around looking at Leon, Gibbs and the D.C. team.

Deeks cleared his throat and the others looked at him.

"Where you going to say something Detective Deeks?" Leon asked.

"No?" Deeks said, "Just hoping Callen had got something for us to eat, I'm hungry it's been a long few days." He said.

"Nope but I have." DiNozzo and McGee said coming in carrying a takeout breakfast and juice, coffees and tea for all.

They all looked at Leon and with his nod descended on the food.

Leon smiled as he watched Hetty and Callen wait until the others were eating before they started eating.

As they gravitated away from the table, Leon went to see Hetty as Gibbs cornered Callen.

* * *

"You know G; you've had D.C. on alert for the past couple of days, all active cases ground to a halt in case you guys were compromised." Gibbs said.

"Really?!" Callen was shocked but not really surprised, Eric and Nell did have other active cases they worked and if they had been compromised countless cases could have been ruined.

"Really," Gibbs said back to him, "And I was worried for you." He said in a quieter tone so that only Callen could here and took a sip of his coffee.

Callen sighed, "They are my family Gibbs, and I'm safe here."

Leroy Jethro Gibbs smiled at the man he thought of as a surrogate son, and saw the kid he had once fostered when his daughter Kelly was alive and about 5 years old.

"I still worry about you kid." He said his voice low.

Callen grinned, "Thanks pop." He said and Gibbs glared at him although the glare softened as DiNozzo walked by.

"DiNozzo, you, McGee and Bishop, Statements from everyone, I want this wrapped up by tonight." He ordered.

Callen stood up and waited while Gibbs got to his feet and they headed towards the bullpen, "And why are we not meeting in a bar this time?" Callen asked.

"Coz you got your ass locked in the office all weekend." Gibbs countered and grinned.

"You heading back tonight?" Callen asked, just before they walked into the bullpen.

"Why?" Gibbs asked.

"I'm moving into my place." Callen said.

Gibbs stopped and looked at him, "You're moving into your place?" he asked.

Callen nodded, "No more bolt-hole." He affirmed.

"Wow…G, I'm proud of you." Gibbs said and patted him on the shoulder.

Callen grinned and went to join the others.

"Ok guys here's the drill, you give your statements to the D.C. team and then you meet me in my room." Callen said, "The second part is voluntary."

"G?" Sam asked.

"I'm packing up my room, I don't need it anymore, I'm going home." He said.

The others looked worried, "You're leaving us?" Kensi asked.

Callen shook his head, "No, I'm moving my stuff to my house."

Deeks grinned, "Where will you find the room for it all?" he asked and flinched as Kensi punched him in the arm. "Ouch!" he smirked and Callen relaxed.

"We'll all be there G." Sam smiled, he was looking forward to getting home and telling Michelle, but he knew that he wouldn't want to miss this.

* * *

He had seen Callen and Gibbs talking while he called Michelle to let her and his daughter know that he was safe and the thought for a second that Callen was leaving unsettled him, they were a family, this weekend had taught them all this, they had made it through the weekend with no break from each other.

If they had learned anything, it was that this team had learned from their enforced time together that they were more than a team they were a family.

Leon noted that too, watching from behind Hetty's desk which she had graciously vacated for him, he noticed, the Los Angeles team were more relaxed with each other, Sam helped Eric with a pile of paperwork and patted him on the back, "You good?" Sam asked Eric.

Eric nodded and sighed, "I've gotta talk to McGee." He said handing Sam a pen and paper, "You'll need these."

Sam patted him on the back, "You'll be fine Eric, you go and see McGee and I'll meet you in Callen's room."

Eric nodded visibly bolstered by the agent's actions.

This for Leon was good to see. Indirectly this little mistake had been the best team building exercise he'd ever seen. He wondered if he could have Eric write something like this that would work in the other offices, although with prior approval so the teams were not as cut off as the Los Angeles team had been.

"Mr. Beale." Leon called over the bullpen.

Eric stopped and turned to walk over to Hetty's office as the others turned to keep an eye on their team mate.

They moved as one to protect him and Leon smiled.

Leon walked into the bullpen.

"This wasn't planned; I don't have to reiterate the rule about using unsecured software in Ops. That having been said there seems to have been some…unique side effects, Mr. Beale, I would like you to write a lockdown protocol software program, something I can use on small teams as a team building exercise." He said.

"Team…building…are you sure sir?" Eric asked, "I mean this wasn't an exercise, this was an accident!"

"But a happy accident," Leon said, "I still need the reports, but there will be no comeback from this incident, it has managed to solve a problem I had been seeing in this office for a while."

"What problem?" Sam asked defensively.

"Issues between you and Mr. Deeks for one," Leon said looking at the two men who now stood comfortably shoulder to shoulder with each other. "And other team building issues that even without intervention seems to have sorted itself out. I congratulate you all; you do seem to have learned from this experience, I also suggest that you all take the next three days off in lieu of the last three days you have just spent at the office."

Deeks and Eric high fived, "Surfs up!" Deeks grinned.

"After we've helped Callen." Kensi and Nell said at the same time.

"Good then on Thursday Mr. Beale, I will expect a conference call with you, and you will be compensated for your time on this project." He said as Eric's face lit up. The rest of the team joining him.

"Hey, does anyone else want to give me their statement?" DiNozzo asked, "I'm feeling really unloved here!" he joked.

"Agent DiNozzo, maybe you, your team and Agent Gibbs should be the next team on lockdown." Vance suggested.

Callen's' team laughed as Gibbs glared at DiNozzo.

They turned and moved on to do as they had been asked and Vance turned to Hetty, "You know Hetty this was a blessing in disguise." He said.

Hetty nodded as she watched the team laughing and joking as they moved down the corridor.

"For you and them both Leon." She said as she pulled her last bag of Valerian root tea out of her purse and walked over to make a cup.


End file.
